A Time for Change

Change is the only constant that life promises us.  We encounter it everywhere.  Sometimes it's good.  Sometimes it's bad.  Sometimes it's expected and sometimes it's sudden.  For the past few months I have been struggling with a choice about a change.  Is it a major, life-altering choice?  No.  But it is one that is important to me, and that choice has been whether to re-locate my blog or not.  After weighing the options and praying for several weeks I have made the decision to relocate my personal blog to www.ponderingpreacher.com.  Before you jump ship, please allow me to explain my decision.

Why This Change?
Over the past year I was privileged enough to be a contributor on a couple of different blogs.  They used a different host site than Fuzzy Reflections, and I got to see how the software and administrative controls worked.  In other words, as a contributor I got to lift the hood and see what makes the engine run on a different blogging host.  The more I contributed, the more I liked the tools available.  It also gave me more options as far as design, domain name, and pricing if I choose to upgrade in any of several ways.

But I also noticed that in just setting up the skeleton of my blog I generated more traffic (site visitors) in a day than my blog here gets in a week.  While I don't foresee my blog ever becoming a mass-appeal site, extra-traffic is always good, especially when you write about things that, hopefully, help people draw closer to God.  I realize some of this traffic may be curious passers-by, I am hoping to expand my reach to a more global audience.

What Will Be Different?
The obvious difference will be the name of the website.  It is now simply ponderingpreacher.com.  The other obvious difference will be the name of the blog.  No longer is it 'Fuzzy Reflections' but it is now 'The Pondering Preacher.'  Why the name change?  Because, my focus has shifted.  Will there still be some 'fuzzy reflections' on every day life?  Yes!  But there will also be articles that challenge church leadership and deal with current event issues.  There will also be my musings on any number of doctrinal and theological issues.

The other main difference will be the layout.  I have simplified and downsized some of the gadgets in the side column.  My hope is for a cleaner, more professional look.  But when you see the site you will find it is just as easy, if not easier, to navigate through past posts and articles.

What Will Be the Same?
There will still be articles and occasional book reviews.  All of the old posts from Fuzzy Reflections are archived on the new site and so are the comments.  So if you have a favorite article to show someone, it will still be available on the new blog.  You can still access my podcasts from the new blog as well.  Just click on the link in the right hand column and it will take you to the media player for my podcasts.

Change is Risky
I realize that I am taking some risks in switching my blog to a new site, the biggest one being losing some of my wonderful readers as followers.  Please, if you followed Fuzzy Reflections, follow The Pondering Preacher.  It means a lot to me that so many people read and view my blog.  I hope that you continue to do so, and spread the word to your friends to check out ponderingpreacher.com!